Library Roundup: Updates from the Latest Board Meeting and Director Kevin King
The East Lansing Public Library (ELPL) Board of Trustees met on Aug. 21 for a short meeting to discuss upcoming closure dates and project updates.
Prior to the meeting, ELPL got approval from the East Lansing City Council to rename Sept. 22-28 “Freedom To Read Week” instead of its commonly known title, “Banned Books Week.” Banned Books Week signifies the freedom to access information and combat previous attempts to censor information. This year’s theme is Freed Between The Lines.
ELPL Board Secretary Shawn Nicholson favors the new theme.
“I’m very appreciative of the positive spin and the tenor…overall reminding us of the values that we hold,” he said.
ELPL has a new committee called the Whole Persons Library Committee, which has been developing content for ELPL’s staff professional development day. The library board discussed having social worker Beth Waller work with library staff on trauma-informed training.
“I’ve seen her a few times, she talks a lot about de-escalation, approaching patrons with trauma-informed mindset, which is really important,” ELPL Director Kevin King said.
“I’d like to say that we are in absolute support of staff training, we’ve talked about it on the board,” Nicholson added. “Very much supportive even in creating budget items to have helped facilitate this.”
In addition to Waller’s training, the staff will receive training on Microsoft Outlook, self-care and emergency calls. This training will be on Election Day, Nov. 5. The library will be closed, but the ballot dropbox outside the library is still accessible to voters.
The board shared that the library will soon be getting some financial help, as the city plans to hire someone to assist with finances and grant writing for ELPL.
“That’s really exciting, especially for us, because we don’t have someone truly devoted to it [grant writing] and I’m excited about that,” King said.
King highlighted a few points before the meeting wrapped up. He said he spoke to the Dean of MSU Libraries Neil Romanosky regarding how MSU and ELPL can work together. The pair came up with the idea of having MSU student IDs doubling as a library card.
Additionally, King said the Touch-A-Truck event held near the library in August was a success. The annual event featured many local professionals, including East Lansing Police and Fire Department employees, showing their vehicles to attendees. King said that the event saw record attendance, with more than 1,200 visitors.
“It was a really great event, all the parts of our community were really great,” King said.
ELPL Director Kevin King updates ELi on strategic planning, other library developments.
Outside of the board meeting, King spoke with ELi about where the library stands with its Strategic Planning Process.
ELPL has invested significant effort in the Strategic Planning Process as a means to better understand how it can best serve the community.
The Strategic Planning Process process started this past May with phase one consisting of library staff meeting 1-on-1 with community leaders and holding community conversations to learn about what the people want from the library. The second phase involved engaging with over 1,000 community members through interviews and online surveys.
“I find that super important because if we’re not providing people with what they need to succeed, we want to know what that is,” King said.
The data collected was sent to the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) to analyze and determine how best to serve the community. ELPL staff recently had a retreat in Mt. Hope for phase three of the Strategic Planning Process, where staff members reflected individually and in groups about the data collected.
MCLS used this to create a vision statement and core values based on the data provided for King to review. The staff reviewed the goals and effective ways to measure progress at another retreat on Sept. 5. The results of the Strategic Planning Process will be shared with the public and implemented this fall.
“We are very cognizant of the trust the community places in us with public funds through their taxes,” King said. “We want to make sure we’re using it properly by asking them [for input] and then creating a strategic planning process that reflects what they want.
“I’m very pleased that it happened at the beginning of my time here,” added King, who took over as library director about six months ago.
King also said the library plans to bring back a community reading event. King referred to the event as “One Grand Read” as a play on Grand River Avenue, but previously the library helped hold a similar event called “One Book, One Community.”
One Grand Read will relaunch in the fall of 2025, King said. This is a county-wide program involving MSU, the City of East Lansing, Lansing Community College, Capital Area District Library and local booksellers.
A book will be selected, and people will be encouraged to read it and attend group discussions held in casual settings, such as restaurants and bars. The author of the book will also visit the area for a group discussion
King also shared internal updates, saying the library is putting a focus on staff mental health.
One of King’s top priorities as library director is making sure that staff is comfortable in their roles. He emphasized strengthening the internal structures within ELPL. Ensuring the library has the resources and processes it needs to implement the new strategic plan without overwhelming the staff will be key, King said.
Since taking over, King has encouraged more trauma-informed care for both workers and library visitors, emphasizing the importance of fostering a safe space. He hopes that area residents of all ages see the library as a welcoming place to spend their time.
“Assuming [visitors’] intentions are noble because they come here to find something that makes their lives better,” King said. “Create a space where teens can come and take their armor off. Be the third place between home and work where they can come and feel safe.”